Stephen Robert Hays, MS, MD, FAAP, is Clinical Professor of Anesthesia & Pediatrics at University of Iowa (UI) Hospitals & Clinics, Director of Pediatric Pain Services at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, and Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs & Development, Department of Anesthesia, UI Carver College of Medicine. A native of Syracuse, NY and Presidential Scholar, he earned simultaneous B.S. / M.S. in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry summa cum laude with Distinction in the Major from Yale University, where he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his M.D. from The Johns Hopkins University, where he remained for Internship & Residency in Pediatrics, Residency in Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine, and Fellowships in Pediatric Anesthesia & Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. He moved to Nashville and Vanderbilt University in 1999, and to Iowa City and UI in 2019.
Dr. Hays is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a member of the AAP including its Sections on Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine (SOAPM), Critical Care Medicine, and Hospice & Palliative Medicine (SOHPM), and serves on the AAP SOHPM Membership & Internal Communications Work Group and the AAP SOAPM Executive Committee. He is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) who has served on its Committees on Pediatric Anesthesiology and Hospice & Palliative Medicine. A Full Examiner for the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), he serves on the ABA Standardized Oral Exam and Objective Standardized Clinical Examination Committees. Dr. Hays also serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine Hospice & Palliative Medicine Advisory Committee. He is currently Secretary-Treasurer of the Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine, a section of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia. He is Board-Certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Anesthesiology, Pediatric Anesthesiology, and Hospice & Palliative Medicine. He received a 2004-2005 Vanderbilt Department of Anesthesiology Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, as well as the 2011 Sandidge Pediatric Pain Management Award in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to Pediatric Pain Management at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Dr. Hays' current clinical practice focuses on perioperative care of children of all ages, with particular interests in pediatric regional anesthesia and pediatric pain management. His clinical time is divided among the pediatric operating room, the inpatient pediatric pain & palliative care services, and various pediatric outpatient clinics. His research interests have included industry-funded pharmaceutical licensing studies of analgesic agents in children, as well as multi-institutional studies of potential pediatric anesthetic neurotoxicity. Dr. Hays regularly presents at local, regional, and national meetings, and has been a named author on numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts and textbook chapters. He currently lives in Iowa City with his wife, Deborah. They have two adult children.